Requiem of the Hyena: Hermione
by RockyGlenn
Summary: Fred's death left a lot of people shaken. Heartbroken. In the aftermath of the rebuilding of Hogwarts, they finally make time to mourn their dead. Hermione's perspective. One-shot. Written by request.


"Today, we are gathered here to bury the people who have died to protect our future. They fought to save us. They fought selflessly for what was right. Today we bury the ones we love who have died in the battle of Hogwarts." Hermione wiped a tear away with her sleeve, keeping her hand in Ron's as they listened to the minister speak. "Remus Lupin. Nymphadora Tonks." She found it hard to not cry as she realized all of the people they lost at Hogwarts that fateful day. "Severus Snape. Colin Creevey." She would never admit it, but she was really only there for one name. She had hoped and prayed that it didn't actually happen. That he would stand up out of the coffin and start dancing or light off a firework or something. Anything. "Fred Weasley." A sob rocked through her body at the sound of his name and the rest of the service went by, but she didn't notice it. She was too broken. She was too distracted. Hearing his name said as deceased was just too final for her. It was just too much. Next thing she noticed was people standing up and walking toward the coffins.

"Ron, what's happening?" she whispered to her friend who might as well have been the only thing holding her to the ground at the moment.

"They're letting people look at the bodies and say final goodbyes. Come on." He said quietly, helping her stand. Hermione stood on shaky legs and got in line to see the fallen. Remus. Tonks. Snape. Colin. She simply said goodbye and kept walking, but she stopped before Fred's coffin. She realized in that moment that she didn't want to see it. She couldn't stand to see it. "Come on, Hermione. It's okay." Ron said into her ear and Hermione took a deep breath before stepping forward and looking upon Fred's lifeless body. A series of sobs rocked through her body and she buried her face in her hands. She needed to be away from this. Somewhere happy. She closed her eyes and tried to be somewhere else. She went back to somewhere happy. She was hurrying through the halls of Hogwarts, book bag in hand and eyes peeled for Umbridge or the other members of the 'Inquisitorial Squad.' There was a sound, a sort of low whistle and she froze, looking around for the source. She took a deep breath and was about to start walking again when she felt warm arms around her.

"What's the hurry, Granger?" She turned around and smiled at the mop of red hair and the brown eyes that could always make her smile.

"Fred, I was just on my way to the DA meeting, which you know perfectly well that we are both late for." She said, smacking his arm. She started to pull away, but Fred held her in his arms.

"No need to rush off, yet."

"Fred, Umbridge is going to find us." Hermione said quietly, looking over his shoulder to the end of the hallway.

"Nope. Umbridge just checked this hallway. That git Malfoy and his thugs are on a floor below and Filch is probably off playing with his cat." He said with a laugh before wrapping his arms tighter around her. "We've got plenty of time."

"Where's George?" Hermione asked, wondering where his other half might be. Fred smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips in an almost teasing manner. Hermione smiled and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"George is busy putting the finishing touches on our little festival next week." Hermione scoffed.

"You can't, Fred! You're going to be expelled!" Fred rolled his eyes.

"That's kind of the point, Granger." He said with a laugh. That laugh that always made her laugh. Even when she was upset. "I've grown out of this school. Besides, you know that there isn't much left here for me. Educationally-wise, at least."

"I was about to be very mad at you for a second, Fred Weasley."

"Save it for my brother." She laughed and reached up, placing her lips on his. She felt his hands move from her back to sides and he pulled her closer. Her heart was racing and her stomach was clenching, but that didn't stop her from kissing him back.

"We should go if we're going to make it to the meeting." She said against his lips, pulling away a little. He pulled her back and kissed her tight on the lips for a moment before letting her go.

"I actually wanted to talk to you." He said, taking her hands and holding them. She leaned up and kissed his jaw with a small giggle.

"What is it?" She asked quietly.

"Well, I was thinking. Since Georgie and I are leaving, I thought that maybe you would want to come with, but I realized pretty quickly what a dumb question that was." He smiled a little and studied his feet. "Well, Georgie asked me why I wanted you to come and I thought about it and I uh...I think I love you, Hermione." Hermione's eyes widened and her hands slipped out of his, falling to her sides. He looked up at her and saw her expression. "You don't have to respond. I'll just...I'll just see-" Hermione threw her arms around his neck and planted her lips on his, her feet slightly off the ground.

"I love you too, Fred." She said with a smile against his lips. "I really do." She giggled a little as she felt his arms slip around her, keeping her secure.

"I'm really glad, Granger." He said with a smile before kissing her tightly. She pulled away and looked into his eyes a bright smile on her face. Now, that same face was the one she was looking down at, eyes closed, lifeless and cold. She wiped the tears away and felt arms wrap around her middle, a small flash of red hair appearing in her periphery. Her heart leapt, but she quickly realized it was just Ron.

"You ready to go, 'Mione?" He whispered into her ear. She sobbed once more before nodding and turning around, letting herself fall apart in Ron's arms. She didn't want to look at his face. It hurt too much knowing that the arms that were holding her were Ron's and not Fred's no matter how much she imagined otherwise.


End file.
